By Connor Falk – Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC ……
Shipwreck gold and silver ingots made a big splash in Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC’s $2.25 million floor auction held November 12-14, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.
A complete gold strap intended for making oro corriente (coin-like ingots) recovered from an early 1500s wreck in the Caribbean sold for $94,000. It has a 22-karat fineness, weighs 1.128 kilograms and measures 10-1/2” long by 1-1/4” wide by 1/4” deep.
Another very large lot was an 82 pound, 7.36 troy ounce silver bar recovered from the Atocha purchased for $64,625. The bar is dated 1622, the same year as the sinking of the Atocha.
Other impressive highlights include the year’s largest offering of Spanish colonial cob coinage. The top gold lot was a Lima, Peru 1713M 8 escudos recovered from the 1715 Fleet that sank off the coast of Florida and certified by NGC as MS 63 (finest known in the census). It sold for $32,900.
In addition to the floor auction, educational talks were held on November 11 on a variety of topics including shipwreck treasure recovery, professional collecting and coin buying strategies.
Daniel Sedwick, president of Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC, said the event provided the perfect close to a successful year.
“The feedback from attendees and bidders was overwhelmingly positive, reflected in strong bidding and record results, but as always we are thankful to our consignors for their trust and confidence,” said Sedwick. “We explored some new areas for us, mainly paper money, and look forward to offering more high-quality items in the future.”
Of the firm’s inaugural offering of paper money, the most valuable lot was a Puerto Rican 1813 8 reales note graded by PMG as VF-35 Net / Pieces Missing acquired for $5,875.
Other top lots and prices realized include:
- Gold “finger” bar from the Golden Fleece wreck: $47,000;
- Large gold disk recovered from the 1715 Fleet, 2029 grams, 11.25-karat: $47,000;
- Lima, Peru 1704H 8 escudos, NGC MS 62: $30,550;
- Potosi, Bolivia 1725Y Louis I 8 reales Royal, VF+: $17,035;
- Large silver basin recovered from the Atocha: $16,450;
Full auction results are available at sedwickcoins.com. A premium of 17.5 percent is included in the prices listed.
Consignments are now being accepted for Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC’s Treasure, World, U.S. Coin and Paper Money Auction 21, scheduled for May 3-4, 2017. Please contact Augi Garcia at [email protected] or Connor Falk at [email protected].
